WE MATTER videos aim to give hope to Canadian First Nations people

A Canadian First Nations filmmaker has pioneered a national campaign that aims to offer support to struggling Indigenous youth across the country.

Kelvin Redvers, who lives in Vancouver but is originally from the Northwest Territories, launched the WE MATTER project with his sister Tunchai Redvers in October.

The campaign’s idea is simple, Redvers said in an email to Daily Hive.

Short video messages are submitted by people nationwide, sending Indigenous youth a message “that no matter how hopeless life feels, there is always a way forward.”

So far, response to the campaign has been outstanding, Redvers said.

Since WE MATTER launched, it’s reached over a million people on social media, the videos have been seen hundreds of thousands of times, and there have been thousands of overwhelmingly positive comments, he added.

Among those who have contributed videos are Canadian electronic music group A Tribe Called Red, and Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

“This is a growing national movement which everyone can be a part of and feel good about,” Redvers said.

“Over time, we plan to send these messages of hope and love into remote communities which lack strong internet connections, starting with northern Saskatchewan.”

The need for this campaign comes from the fact that “too many youth have been taking their own lives, which is a heavy topic,” added Redvers.

“But in return there is so much love, beauty, and authenticity in these videos.”